Aaron Smock
Aaron Smock was a contestant on Season 16 of Hell's Kitchen. He ranked in 14th place. Personality Aaron was very passionate, and the most polite and caring chef on his team, but was also the chef with the least experience. His low self-confidence and zero support from his team happened to be his downfall, even though he could cook. Season 16 Episode 1 On the bus ride to Hell's Kitchen, the chefs were expecting to arrive at the restaurant, but the bus instead pulled up to an army base. After leaving the bus, the chefs lined up in front of their own duffel bags, and as the Drill Sargent was barking out orders, a tank pulled up behind him, and Ramsay came out of it. Then, Ramsay explained that before the chefs could enter Hell’s Kitchen, he wanted to make sure that they all had the discipline to survive, noting that the army was the perfect example to prepare them. After, Ramsay said that if they could survive boot camp, then he will be convinced that they were worthy of competing. After changing into their uniforms, the chefs were put through an obstacle course and jogged over to Ramsay who was in front of a giant wall, which he called the toughest challenge. After the chefs claimed that they were ready, Ramsay was happy to hear it as the wall fell on him, revealing the front of the restaurant, and a large crowd waiting for them. Now that he saw the chef’s commitment and desire to be in the competition, Ramsay announced that it was time for them to cook their signature dishes. During the Signature Dish Challenge, Aaron knew that he would have to prove to the chefs that he belonged in the competition due to his age, and that he looked like he just came out of middle school. He was the second person from the blue team to have his dish judged by Ramsay, and went up against Wendy. Before tasting his dish, Ramsay asked him what the fuck he was wearing, referring to his shorts, and reminded him that it was not a golfing competition, before asking if his parents knew he was here. He made a schnitzel, Ramsay struggled to find any faults in the dish, and he scored 4 points. The blue team eventually lost the challenge 25-28, and they were punished by resetting the dining room and setting up the tables for the following service, and packing up the risers the audience were sitting at. During dinner service, Aaron served a linguine and clams appetizer tableside with Koop. He was not seen that night, the blue team lost the service, and were asked to nominate two people for elimination. He was not nominated for elimination. Episode 2 Back at the dorms, Aaron was one of the men that stripped naked during their hot tub time, and felt great to bond with the men. Later, he got a smack on the butt by Gia. During the Crepe Grand Prix Challenge, Aaron was paired up with Andrew, got called out by Ramsay for not doing a lot, and received help from his partner. They were only seen getting one attempt accepted, and he said that he got a boost in confidence thanks to working with Andrew. The blue team won the challenge 10-9, and they were rewarded with a trip to Santa Barbara, dined aboard a 74-foot super mega yacht, and a chance to ride jet skis. During dinner service, Aaron was on the appetizer station with Devin. While he got accused by Devin for looking asleep, he felt that it was hard to find his voice due to the former taking over the station. Then, Ramsay discovered that his kale salad was overdressed to the point that excess was dripping off, and asked him where his finesse went. While he got the refire accepted, he was ignored by Andrew after asking for help, and was forced to tell Ramsay that the latter did not drop his scallops, much to Andrew's annoyance. On their next ticket, he was determined not to get yelled at again, but Ramsay caught him making pizzas that did not have the dough rolled out properly, two of them were on the same paddle, and showed the entire blue team that. The blue team lost the service, and were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, Aaron was considered for elimination by Andrew and Matt, but he felt that his mistake on the kale salad was not a big deal. Then, while he argued that he was the youngest, Johnny retorted that he should have used it to his advantage by running around. Aaron was the blue team's second nominee for elimination, with Genaro as the first. During his plea, Ramsay accused him of looking scared that night while reminding him about the overly dressed salad, but he felt that he could learn from his own mistakes and move forward. While Ramsay appreciated him trying to learn, he was reminded that he needed to have a base that he had before coming into the competition. He survived elimination, and while being dismissed, he was happy to have dodged a bullet, and knew that he had a lot to prove. Episode 3 During the Ostrich Meat Challenge, Aaron was not seen during the first part. He was paired up with Koop on the top loin, they were the second pair from the blue team to have their dishes judged, and went up against Heather, Heidi, and Kimberly. He made a spaghetti with seared top loin medallions, it was criticized for looking like a dish David McMillan’s twelve-year-old would make, and he lost that round to the red team. The blue team lost the challenge 1-3, and they were punished by taking in deliveries of raw pine nuts, prep them for the following service for a pesto, and clean up the goo and eggshells from the dining room. During the punishment, Aaron was sent to grab Matt from the dorms as they had to the do the punishments together, but when the latter threatened to quit the competition, he annoyingly told Matt to go the fuck home if he was too cool for the competition. When he came downstairs, he told Marino about Matt’s decision to walk out. During dinner service, Aaron was on the garnish station. At one point, he sent up mashed potatoes that were burnt, and Ramsay forced the blue team to sit at the chefs table and eat it. The blue team eventually won the service. Episode 4 During the Protein Identification Challenge, Aaron got confident after seeing the red team’s time. He was paired up with Andrew, they were the second pair from the blue team to compete, and randomly picked venison and bay scallops. After carefully tasting the dish, they managed to get the correct pairing on their first attempt. The blue team won the challenge 9 minutes and 46 seconds to 13 minutes and 41 seconds, and they were rewarded with a trip to San Diego, and got to experience surfing at the Wave House. During dinner service, Aaron was on the meat station. He decided to let his New York striploins rest so Ramsay would have nothing to say, and it paid off as the blue team was finally able to serve their half, and Ramsay praised him for his steaks. However, he did not call out four minutes until Andrew told him to, Ramsay asked if he has found his voice. It continued as he did not communicate on his Wellingtons, and Johnny compared him to a scared little bunny rabbit, before telling him to grow a fucking pair. Then, he announced that his Wellingtons were cold, leading to a pissed Ramsay showing it to the rest of the blue team. That mistake led to the blue team getting kicked out of service. The blue team lost the service, and were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, Aaron was considered for elimination by Johnny as he had to be yelled at in order to say something, and was told that while he could cook meat, he could not communicate with anybody. Then, he spoke up that he bounced back after being nominated before, and believed that he did not deserve to be up again, before considering Devin for elimination. Aaron was named the blue team's second nominee, with Koop as the first. When Koop argued that somebody else felt the temperatures for him, he admitted that he asked Andrew to double check his meat as he did not want it to be sent back. During his plea, he believed that he improved since the last time he was up for elimination, and that all he needed was to build his confidence. However, when Ramsay asked him how long that would take, he did not have a clear answer, leading Ramsay to tell him that while he could cook, his confidence might be his undoing. He survived elimination, and Ramsay told him to get his head out of the sand and start communicating. While being dismissed, while he was ecstatic to have survived elimination, he knew that he had to become more vocal. Episode 5 During the Seven Seas Seafood Challenge, Aaron went up against Ryan, he picked the Baltic Sea, and their fish was cod. During the cooking, Ramsay reminded him that he should have roasted his vegetables before adding garlic, and after the cooking, he tried to calm down Andrew. He was the fifth person from the blue team to have his dish judged by Ramsay, and presented his oven-baked cod with roasted root vegetables. it was criticized for having excess water from the fish, and he lost that round to Ryan. The blue team eventually won the challenge 5-4, and they were rewarded with lunch at Petty Cash with Ramsay, and got to go bowling. During the reward, he managed to shock Ramsay once again by his choice of shorts, and during the bowling, he was seen doing very well. During dinner service, Aaron was on the appetizer station with Paulie. He was not seen that night, the blue team lost the service, and were asked to nominate two people for elimination. During deliberation, he was considered by Matt for elimination as he was considered the weakest of the blue team, but while he was pissed as he did awesome that night, everybody considered him and Devin for elimination. Aaron was named the blue team's second nominee for elimination, with Devin as the first, and they were soon joined by Johnny. During his plea, he claimed that he has gotten better every service, and was baffled why he was nominated. When Ramsay asked him if the blue team trusted him, he answered that they did, even though Ramsay pointed out that they kept nominating him. Then, he felt that the blue team did not want him around, he admitted that he was hurt, but wanted to prove them wrong. He was eliminated as Ramsay felt that the blue team have given up on him due to his lack of confidence. Before leaving, Ramsay praised him for his passion, and urged him not to stop as he could cook. During his exit interview, he was still baffled on why he got eliminated, thought that people were playing favorites as they didn’t want their friend to leave, and was still pissed off, but would make a name for himself and would cook until the day he dies. Ramsay's comment: "To be a great chef, you have to earn respect from your brigade. Being so young and inexperienced, Aaron was never going to do that with his team and that's why I took his jacket." Nomination history Trivia * At age 24 as of 2019 (22 in Season 16), Aaron is the youngest Hell's Kitchen contestant ever when adjusted for time. * Many people believe that Johnny should have been eliminated over him. * After his appearance on the show, he returned to his previous role as Banquet Chef at The Homestead before moving back to his hometown and worked at Prost Wine Bar & Charcuterie. He is currently working at Calypso Mediterranean Grill. Quotes *"I look like, you know, I'm fresh out of middle school." *(After being eliminated) "I still am, like, baffled on why I got eliminated. It might be, you know, people were playing favorites 'cause they didn't want their friend to leave. I'm definitely pissed off, but I'm gonna go on and just, you know, make a name for myself definitely. Cooking is my life, so I'm gonna be cooking until probably the day I die." External * Category:Chef Category:Season 16 Category:14th Place Category:Michiganders